When was the last time that you woke up and you felt energetic, energized, excited? Think about it, when we were kids, it was so much easier to have abundant energy. However, when you look at most adults, they’re tired, fatigued or low in energy. I noticed that I’d got to a point where I was waking up and feeling sluggish. I wanted to get up and train, but my energy levels weren’t there. I had to use will power to do so. Will power is a muscle, and it can't last long. You burn out.
Furthermore, by the end of the day, my energy levels and my focus, had completely diminished, leaving me feeling sluggish, lethargic and unmotivated. After noticing that my energy levels were not where I wanted to be, I decided to do some research and experiments to see how I can increase my energy levels. I needed to find a way to manage my busy lifestyle, and get my energy back and get my focus back so I can perform on the highest level all the time. Energy is everything. If you have energy, or life force, it influences your work, it influences your training, it influences your life, your relationships, everything.
Throughout your life, there are two important resources you have to conserve:
- The first resource you want to conserve; is your time. Time is a commodity that you cannot take back, that you cannot control. If you lose it, that's it.
- The second resource is your life force, your chi, or your energy. In Chinese medicine, they say your chi is a finite energy, or a finite resource.
In this article, I’ll show you four things to do that will have a great impact in improving your energy levels. After the first thirty days, I could feel my energy levels increase, my productivity went up, and my training results went up. Here are four things that I want you to do every single day:
1. CONNECT WITH THE EMOTION OF GRATITUDE
First thing you should do every single morning is wake up and write down three things that you are grateful for. Physically write it out, don’t just think about it. It could be anything, for example, the roof that you have over your head, the people you have in your life, the health that you have right now. When you're thinking about this, don't just list it out for the sake of it. Really appreciate and feel the emotion. That's what will make the difference. Appreciation and gratitude is what's important, it's a feeling. The goal is to go deeper and deeper every day with the emotion of gratitude, until it becomes your natural state.
2. OVER-HYDRATE YOUR BODY
Your body is 70 percent water. How often do you think you drink water in a day?
One way to improve your health and increase energy in your day, is to drink more water before going to bed. The extra water replenishes you, it keeps you hydrated for the eight hours that you are sleeping. When you wake up, your body is fresh, and it's not dry. Then, when you wake up, drink another extra glass of water to rehydrate your body again!
3. USE THE DRAGON BREATH
There's a thing called a fire breath or a dragon breath. When you wake up in the morning, I want you to try three deep breaths.
What you want to do is breathe in for three deep breaths into the stomach. Place your hand on your stomach and imagine a balloon. When you breathe in, the balloon expands. And as you breathe out fast, the balloon deflates, your stomach pushes back into the spine. There are multiple counts you can experiment with to increase your energy. One way is to breathe in slowly for 6 seconds, hold 6 seconds, then breathe out fast as if you are sighing, then hold 6 seconds. Repeat.
During our busy lives, most people breathe very shallow, usually from the nose or at most the chest. You want to practice and train yourself to start breathing from the diaphragm. This breathing also has positive effects on your physical performance. For example, I tested this with my strength in finger push ups. Before the breathing exercise, I did 50 push ups. Then after 30 breaths, I moved to 75. The deep breathing gives you more oxygen around your body and you can perform on a higher level.
4. BE TECH FREE BEFORE AND AFTER BED
How often, each day when you wake up, the first thing you look at is your phone. And the last thing you see at night before bed is your phone?
Research shows that for the hour before you sleep, you shouldn’t be using your phone or any screen devices. Try reading or meditating, but don't use your screen.
I've found one hour to be very difficult, so I did half an hour. For thirty days, the half hour before bed and half hour after waking up, I had no phones, no technology. What I found is in the morning, when I wake up, I had a lot more energy. I woke up more energetic, in a better mood and feeling more motivated.
Give it a go! Try these 4 habits for the next 10 days. You’ll see results and you’ll keep going for the next 30 days!
I tried it out myself, and saw massive, massive difference over 30 days.
These simple habits will give you so much more energy. You will wake up with a lot of power, a lot more vibrancy, and it's going to make a difference in everything that you do.
About the Author:
Alan La is a hall-of-famed martial artist, best-selling author, and founder of Invincible Worldwide, who specialises in helping people unlock their physical and mental potential. Invincible Worldwide has become a global movement with 100,000 followers around the world. Today, Alan La and his team empowers people to become physically and mentally extraordinary through online training, live seminars and their Invincible HQ training gyms across Sydney.
For more information about Invincible Worldwide, go to: www.invincibleworldwide.com